Baby Breath and Booties
by Pieequals36
Summary: A "missing" scene from iFix A Popstar. Ever wondered what Sam would be like with kids?


**A/N: The scene were the guys were babysitting in IFix a Popstar really inspired me and I haven't felt like that about Seddie in a long while. So I wrote this cheesy little one shot. Actually the shortest thing I've written so far! lol Anyways, I hope this brings back a little of the Seddie hope. I'd love to know what you guys think, and if you think my muse in waning a little :( So push that green button, make me informed :P x**

_And I say hey you/ you're no fool if you say no/ ain't it just the way life goes/people feel what they don't know/come along for the ride_

Of all the things Sam Puckett imagined herself to be doing on a Friday night, changing some baby's diaper was certainly not one of them. She particularly admired Carly's successful attempts at shirking baby duty; some of the excuses had gotten quite creative. She especially liked the one about Spencer's head being stuck in the toilet. Carly was obviously picking up a few tricks. But just because she took a certain amount of pride in teaching her best friend to be more than a little devious did not mean she was happy being left holding the baby. Literally and metaphorically. She kept her eyes shut through the ordeal, holding breath as she dumped the stained diaper in the trash. She really hoped she didn't get any baby cooties on her. Of course, Sam was no stranger to the baby game. Many of her cousins had been popping them out since the age of fourteen, so she was quite used to the screaming, pooping little messes. Perhaps that was why her friends seemed to nominate her as key baby minder, not a role she was sure she felt entirely comfortable in.

She gazed down at the little bundle of blue on the baby changer. He held a chubby foot to his mouth, chewing fervently on a toe.

"Wow, that's pretty good kid," Sam praised, "If you can still do it when you're my age and holding a can of peppy cola in the other hand get back to me.

Saliva dripped down his short, stump leg and he cried out at the feeling, dropping his foot.

"Calm down dude," she instructed the crying lump, "It's your own gunk....man. You really are your mom's kid huh?"

He continued to cry out, Sam suspected, mostly just to annoy her. "Hey. We discussed this. I change and feed you, then you don't expect any 'affectionate' behaviour from me. Remember the deal?"

His squeals got louder, his face turning a brighter shade of red. She let out a frustrated groan, calling out for help. There was no response from downstairs and the child kept sobbing, little tears running down his podgy cheeks. Sam tilted her head examining him. He kind of reminded her of Gibby.

"Ahhh ok," she caved, scooping the child into her arms. "You owe me big time."

Her head raced with the "how to hold a baby" checklist given in Health Education. Cradle the head? Check. Support the back? Check. Try not to drop the slippery little sucker? Check. Well...so far. Apparently this check list was merely not being ticked off in her head, but she was slowly repeating it out loud, much to the amusement of the baby boy in her arms.

"What? What's so funny?"

He chuckled, his small chubby hands lodged between his gums.

"Oh so it is all limbs you eat? You don't discriminate huh?"

Another appreciative chuckle and Sam smiled. Ok, so she wasn't going to turn into a pile of goo but heck – the kid was adorable.

"You're kinda cute you know that?" she mused in a sing song voice. She quickly followed a barrage of baby talk with some raspberries and even caught one of the child's hands in her mouth, making a wide array of noises, much to his amusement.

Freddie stood in the doorway, watching on in mild shock and pleasant surprise. After hearing Sam's cries for help he half expected to arrive to a screaming child and a forever scarred Sam. But no – the perpetually blonde delinquent had instead found a kindred spirit, in something less than 1/8th her size. He can't really describe the scene even now, especially why he was so touched by it. A feeling rushed through him. Pride? No. Hope? Perhaps, but for what he wasn't quite sure. He could sort of compare it do déjà vu – liked he'd been there before or he was going to be there someday. But again, this didn't make sense. It just didn't. He kept watch, leaning on the frame. She bounced the child gently, talking to him like she would talk to anyone. The baby seemed to connect, and in particularly touching moment reached up and grabbed her nose. Dread ran through Freddie – no one, not even a baby, was allowed to interfere with Samantha Puckett's personal bubble. But she reacted in a way that reminded him of his mother. A little cuddle and shake of her hair in his face. The boy giggled, an exuberant noise that made Freddie smile.

"I didn't know you liked babies," Freddie announced in a move that surprised both of them. Startled, Sam focused her gaze on the boy in the doorway.

"I don't," she snorted, wrinkling her nose, "This one just doesn't annoy me as much as the rest of them."

"He likes you," Freddie told her, slowly making his way across the room. He leant over her shoulder, gazing down at the bundle cradled in her arms.

"Yeah well, so does Germy, but you don't see me caving to him do you?" she mumbled, unconsciously fixing the child's vest. Freddie briefly wondered if she realised the extent of the maternal skills she was exhibiting, and simultaneously wondered where she had picked up such a skill. He didn't expect her childhood to have been filled with cuddles and motherly bonding.

Sam could feel him breathing on her neck, standing close. He had been taking more liberties with his health of late; standing closer, brushing up against her. Generally just a lot more touching going on between the pair. Strangely, she found herself not exactly averse to this newfound closeness. It was kind of nice to have a boy (even if it was Fredweird) who wanted to be close. Especially because he was so tall and all now. His left arm snaked over her shoulder, tickling Billy's chin. He cooed up favourably, snuggling further into Sam's embrace. Freddie may have withdrawn his hand, but he left it on her shoulder, burning into her skin.

"You think you'll have kids when you're older?" she asked. She could feel him tense, perhaps a little alarmed by the intimacy of the question.

"Maybe. One day," he conceded, his voice slow and deliberate. "You?"

"Maybe. One day," she repeated his answer with a smile, leaning back on the hard wall of his chest to focus her eyes on his swirling chocolate iris's. Gazes locked, and smiles were exchanged, Freddie's hand now rubbing the skin of her bare arm. She felt safe and she wasn't sure why. For some odd reason, a future seemed secure. And although the sixteen year old wasn't quite sure what it entailed she just knew, gazing into the face of her friend, that it existed.

"Oh you look like such a cute family!" Carly exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Mr and Mrs Benson."

Although a jest, Sam took it t heart, stepping away from Freddie and leaving him cold.

"You kidding me?" she spat, "You two have been swanning around all day, while I've had to look after this little brat!"

She strode across the floor, shoving the child into Carly's waiting arms. "Here, take it," she instructed, throwing Freddie a withering glance, "I'm away to get meat."

She kept walking purposely forward in attempt to stop herself from reminding Carly that Billy was due his fourth feed around now. It wasn't her problem. She descended the stairs two at a time, jumping the last with an audible thud. Spencer stood by the sofa, towelling his hair and spitting invisible haukies across the room. Both meet each other's surprised eyes, Sam cocking an eyebrow.

"The toilet tried to eat me."

Suddenly Sam realised why she was so good with kids; she was surrounded by them.


End file.
